From a former Winn-Dixie, he built a church powerhouse in Miami Gardens. Bishop dies at 76
Bishop S. Robert Stewart, who took a dilapidated Winn-Dixie and turned it into Pentecostal Tabernacle International, a mecca for religion, education, counseling and business in Miami Gardens, has died. He was 76.
People who have lived in the Miami Gardens area for any length of time will remember when the old Winn-Dixie took up nearly a half block at Northwest Seventh Avenue and 183rd Street. It was when the store moved across the street to a larger venue that Pastor Stewart’s vision for a worldwide ministry began to unfold.
With the help of a devoted congregation, the former grocery store was purchased and later gutted. Out of its ashes arose a beautiful sanctuary that Stewart named Pentecostal Tabernacle International.
Jamaican heritage
Sydney Robert Stewart was born in Spalding, Manchester, Jamaica. At an early age it became evident that he was on a journey of faith and leadership.
“As a young man, his relatives noticed he had a profound sense of purpose and a deep-seated desire to effect positive change,” said his daughter-in-law, Typhanie Stewart. “Before coming to this country with his family in 1980, he had served throughout the 1970s as the national youth president of the United Pentecostal Church of Jamaica.”
Upon his arrival in Miami, Stewart quickly aligned himself with the local United Pentecostal Church and worked as an assistant administrator at Dade County’s Public Health Trust at Jackson Memorial Hospital.
When United Pentecostal Church moved to Cooper City in 1992, Jennifer Stewart, his wife of 53 years, said, “He felt an overwhelming burden for the Miami Gardens (then unincorporated Dade County) community and answered the call to become a pastor.“
International ministry
He founded Pentecostal Tabernacle, now Pentecostal Tabernacle International, in 1996. Under Stewart’s leadership, the half block that had housed only the new sanctuary grew into a block of businesses with the church being the anchor.
“While he was an outstanding husband and father, we didn’t always understand the things he did, “ his wife said. “In hindsight, we now know now that he was called to a bigger mission, a bigger purpose than his family. And that was to touch lives worldwide.”
Stewart’s ministry took him throughout the United States, and to Canada, England, Venezuela, Argentina, the Philippines and several African and Caribbean countries. Out of the mother church in Miami Gardens, a Spanish-language church and six other thriving churches in four countries now exist.
Those who knew him were touched by the bishop’s unwavering commitment to the downtrodden and the spiritually hungry. His favorite saying was, “Focus on Jesus.”
“He said the Lord gave that to him when he was building the church,” his wife said. “He had stickers and licenses plates and signs made with those words. And that was what he did. He focused on Jesus, whether it was rescuing a homeless person or feeding the hungry. To him, focusing on Jesus meant that he cared for his fellow human beings.”
She remembered the man experiencing homelessness who slept on the bus bench in front of the church, and how her husband reached out to him, getting the church involved in his well-being.
“Bishop befriended him, heard his story, and charged the church to look out for him. Focusing on Jesus was how he lived,” she said. “And by doing so, he was also focusing on God’s people worldwide.”
His burden for the community’s social needs led him to establish the Center for Advancement Restoration and Empowerment (CARE) in Miami Gardens, a nonprofit program that offers counseling and mental health support, delivers meals and blankets to homeless communities in Miami and provides free food to needy families. He also founded Pentab Academy, a Christian school in Miami Gardens, and several businesses.
Helping the downtrodden
Lataya Hall, executive director of CARE, joined the team eight years ago.
“His whole ministry involved helping the downtrodden,” she said. “This is the heart of who he was. When he brought our attention to the homeless man, he said maybe God keeps bringing him back to us so we can help him. While the man doesn’t want shelter, CARE has given him clean clothes, a sleeping bag, offered him a place to take a shower and made it possible for him to get free medical care.
“I can’t begin to tell you the depths of the things this man [Bishop Stewart] has done,’’ she added. “He really has left a great legacy. I am blessed to have seen that he was a great servant leader. This has encouraged me to continue this work of serving others out of love and compassion, just as he did.”
Keys to the city
Last June, Stewart retired as pastor and was consecrated bishop. At his retirement, he was presented with the keys to the city of Miami Gardens.
“We did this because he was an incredible individual who loved the church, his family and the community,” said Miami Gardens Councilman Robert L. Stephens III. “He would do anything possible to assist anyone with whatever they needed. He touched many lives, and we will always be grateful for his years of service to the more than 113,000 residents of our city.”
Said Pastor Omar Williams, who succeeded Stewart as pastor, “Bishop was a unique man of God. I often joked that he embodied a rare combination of giftings: He was good with people, had strong administrative skills while also being a servant leader. Bishop had a heart for evangelism and he was a visionary. ... He also had a strong community presence and was an advocate for social justice.”
Bishop Stewart died on the morning of May 5, while getting ready to attend church. In addition to his wife, he is survived by three sons Robert (Janice), Dwayne (Typhanie) and Dwight (Morine); daughter Sherrie (Marcel) Deans; five grandchildren and many extended family members and friends.
A viewing will be at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 25, followed by a celebration of life service at 10 a.m. at the Charles F. Dodge City Center, 601 City Center Way in Pembroke Pines. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Pentab Academy at www.pentabacademy.org.
